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Expanded Search Options in Legacy Outlook 365 for Mac

Adam Cohen 20 Reputation points
2026-04-01T13:02:10.0166667+00:00

Sometimes when I attempt to do an advanced search on my Outlook mail, I get a dropdown that includes 15 items to search on, while at other times I get a more expanded, 29-item list in that same dropdown.

I've been trying to build a series of Smart Folders (saved searches) that return the items in the inbox of one of my Exchange accounts (by using a raw query to point to that folder ID), and I'd like to set up various searches to return items in my inbox that have been received on a specific date, or between two dates, or since a specific date. I have successfully achieved that in the past through searching on the "Date Received" item in the expanded dropdown list. I was even able to do that earlier in the day yesterday, but starting yesterday afternoon, I couldn't bring back the expanded list, and simply using the "Date" item in the smaller list doesn't led the same results.

I have tried to create the search with the inbox of my exchange account selected, making sure that I'm searching "All Items". I have tried selecting a specific message within that inbox, clicking into the search field in the upper right and corner of the window and then clicking into the advanced button on the ribbon. No matter at I do, I can't seem to get that expanded item dropdown back. What am I doing wrong?

Outlook | MacOS | Legacy Outlook for Mac | For business

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  1. Jayden-P 20,255 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-04-01T14:04:28.0233333+00:00

    Hi @Adam Cohen

    First, can you please provide your Outlook version? I am using the latest version which is 16.107.3 and I notice some of behavior:

    When you open Search, All Items is selected and the highlighted part is greyed out, you will get 15 conditions. What you can do now is switch back to Current folder, let the highlighted part no longer greyed out, and click Close Search.

    User's image

    The next time you open, all 29 conditions will be back.

    User's image

    In conclusion, when you first open Search in upper right corner, if the highlighted part is greyed out, 15 conditions.

    If you want to use 29 conditions in All items, you will need to switch back to Current Folder, close Search, open Seach again and select All items.

    Please try and let me know if you see the same behavior.

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  1. Adam Cohen 20 Reputation points
    2026-04-01T17:14:43.27+00:00

    Thanks. I'm currently running 16.107.2, and in that version, your suggestions don't result in the outcome you describe; I'm still only getting the condensed set of search options.

    Unfortunately, I've also discovered another problem with Outlook, in that I don't seem to be able to quit it (it immediately reopens, whether I hit Command-Q, force quit it, or quit it using Activity Monitor), which prevents me from ever being able to see if a restart of the app will download the update that gets me to 16.107.3 so that I can try out your suggestion with the same version of the app that you're using. I've got another open thread in this forum to try and figure that problem out now!

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